The ability to electronically input drawings and text can be an essential step in the employment of modern computer technology to process such data. Presently, there are many methods used to input drawings and text.
For example, text can be entered into a computer with a keyboard. Despite being the most common and mature form of text input, the keyboard has several shortcomings. When text from a non-Roman language is entered it can require a coding method to input non-alphabetic based text. This method is difficult to learn and awkward to use. When the keyboard is small, or the number of keys is limited, as in the case of PDAs and cell phones, the input process can be slowed considerably. Also, incorrect keys pressed lead to inaccurate text inputs. Finally, it is not feasible to use the keyboard to input drawings into a computer.
Another method for inputting data into a computer is to use a mouse. A mouse can be efficacious in drawing simple geometric shapes, such as a rectangle, circle, etc. However, using a mouse can be inefficient. Errors are easy to make when drawing complex curves and shapes. Also, it is inefficient and difficult to input text using a mouse. Though there are devices such as touch screens and tablets that attempt to incorporate graphic and text input into a machine, they have not been able to provide adequate solutions for several problems. Writing and drawing can be limited to often small, confined areas such as a screen. The use of a stylus requires a certain amount of pressure different from that normally applied when writing with a conventional pen. This can be an inconvenience to the user. Editing drawings and text can be tedious at best. It can be cumbersome to carry often bulky screens and tablets when using mobile devices, such as handsets, telephones, and PDAs.